Monday, October 22, 2007

Jindal wins

U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal easily defeated 11 opponents and became the state's first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction, decades after his parents moved to the state from India to pursue the American dream.
Jindal, a 36-year-old Republican, will be the nation's youngest governor. He had 53 percent with 625,036 votes with about 92 percent of the vote tallied. It was more than enough to win Saturday's election outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff.

Jindal, who takes office in January, pledged to fight corruption and rid the state of those "feeding at the public trough," revisiting a campaign theme. "They can either go quietly or they can go loudly, but either way, they will go," he said, adding that he would call the Legislature into special session to address ethics reform. Political analysts said Jindal built up support as a sort of "buyer's remorse" from people who voted for Blanco last time and had second thoughts about that decision. Blanco was widely criticized for the state's response to Hurricane Katrina and she announced months ago that she would not seek re-election.

GOP focuses sights on Sen. Mary Landrieu in2008--Currently, usage of the Internet is tax free. Last night, Republicans offered S. 2128, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The bill would permanently extend the current ban on taxingthe Internet.Mary Objects: After Republicans asked the Senate to consider the bill, Mary Landrieu stepped up to voice objection, the second time she has objected to a permanent ban.